ANRA Technologies was born as a paper napkin idea in 2015. This resulted in a garage prototype which soon won the ‘coolest technology’ award at a show in Washington DC. Eight years later, ANRA is the international leader in integrated airspace, mission management and delivery systems for uncrewed aircraft.
“Estonia is a terrific fit for ANRA, and we have already begun to engage and collaborate within the EU,” Amit Ganjoo, founder and CEO of ANRA Technologies says. “As a global company, we have been waiting for the appropriate time to establish our business in Europe and believe now is the right time to invest in the EU to expand our SmartSkies portfolio.”
“Estonia has low air traffic density and open airspace, which makes us one of the most thriving drone ecosystems in Northern Europe,” Kristo Reinsalu, General Manager of Estonian Aviation Cluster adds. “Innovators like ANRA will play a key role in helping us to set up a U-Space Sandbox, which paves the way to be 100% ready for commercial use of drones.“
“Tartu is a great place for smart developments, city’s long aviation history and opportunities are the perfect testbed for airspace and unmanned aviation. ANRA is a key piece in the process of commercializing the use of drones in Estonia and the European Union. ANRA is as an example why to use Estonia as a no-bureaucracy gateway to European market and bring your business to grow here,” Asso Uibo, Invest Estonia’s Director of Regional Business Development in South Estonia notes.
ANRA will initially focus on EU projects, advancing the SmartSkies family of software platforms that support U-space projects ranging from drone delivery to Urban Air Mobility.
“ANRA is uniquely positioned as an international thought leader, while leading standards development, participating in aviation rulemaking efforts, and building world-class software platforms,” says Dr Ajay Modha, ANRA’s Head of Business for the United Kingdom. “We can help with the harmonisation of aviation digitization for the EU and globally for autonomous aircraft.”
ANRA is currently participating in European Union Aviation Safety Agency Joint Undertaking for a very large demonstration for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in a consortium called AMU-LED, as a provider of U-space services for Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. AMU-LED will test real UAM operations in a U-space eco-system for coordinated flights of several types of drones in different scenarios, use cases and applications for inspections, logistics and mobility using air vehicles. Live flight operations will occur in Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
ANRA is also supporting the European Space Agency feasibility study Space for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) with their Estonia partners SKYCORP and the Estonian Aviation Academy. This effort will assess space-based services for safe and efficient UAM operations for urban areas with Tartu being one of the main cities supporting the user-driven approach.
In the year of 2023, drones will have their own traffic system called U-Space, which is a concept developed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
In the city of Tartu, ICT and startup ecosystem, science and cooperation with academia give an important meaning for the whole South Estonia region. Tartu Airport is located in Reola, Ülenurme Parish, near the Tallinn-Tartu-Võru-Luhamaa highway. It is the only Estonian regional airport where the airline operates an international scheduled service (between Tartu and Helsinki, Finland; operated by Finnair). Tartu Airport is also home to Estonian Aviation Academy – a state-owned professional higher education institution teaching and training specialists for Estonian and international aviation enterprises and organisations.
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